Nancy Coogan to Leave SPS for Tukwila

From the Tukwila Reporter:

The new superintendent of the Tukwila School District is Nancy Coogan, a Seattle Public Schools administrator, chosen unanimously by the Tukwila School Board on Saturday.

The district will now offer the positon to Coogan; still to be completed are contract negotiations and a background check.
I found her biography (as provided by the district) interesting (partial):

DR.NANCY COOGAN is Executive Director of the Central Region of Seattle Public Schools. In this role she oversees all aspects of K-12 schools, serving 10,500 students in Seattle's most impacted neighborhoods, as well as the World School for international students whose formal education has been interrupted. She has collaborated with the school board in development of a five-year strategic plan, led efforts in Special Education compliance and provided professional development for all 93 schools.
I'm not sure I know what "most impacted neighborhoods" means. 

Let's see that makes Enfield, Brockman and now Coogan.  It appears SPS is a good training ground for superintendents. 

(And in the category of "hmmm", I noticed that Susan Enfield has a picture up in the lobby of headquarters along with the other superintendents.  What's odd about that is that she never was a permanent superintendent so I don't know why she's there).

Comments

mirmac1 said…
hmmm is right. Will Bob Boesche's be up there for his week as interim superintendent?

i know some special families who are glad to see Coogan go.

Musical chairs. And a subset of richly-rewarded district staff reaching for the gold ring, while teachers are hung out to dry.
4/1/13, 9:12 AM
Anonymous said…
I liked Nancy. Too bad for SPS

-Annie
4/1/13, 9:52 AM
suep. said…
Enfield's PR machine appears to still be in full force. There is also a completely vapid puff piece about her in the latest Parent Map.

?!?
4/1/13, 10:06 AM
suep. said…
(I wonder what S. Enfield or the those behind her are angling for. The corporate ed reformers did invest a fair bit of energy in her, after all.)
4/1/13, 10:09 AM
Anonymous said…
Anybody who has been in Coogan's orbit knows that the idea of her leading special education compliance is over the top ridiculous. She is one of Seattle's worst administrators and for special education matters, "dumb as a stump" is the only phrase the comes close. I pity the teachers and the families in Tukwila.

staffer in the know
4/1/13, 10:18 AM
Anonymous said…
ParentMap has had a new editor for the past year+ who came from The Seattle Times. That could explain the puff piece.

Solvay Girl
4/1/13, 1:09 PM
Anonymous said…
Nancy Coogan was very responsive to me as a parent over a minor issue. I appreciated that.

One Mom
4/1/13, 2:34 PM
Anonymous said…
As a parent who was at Lowell during the APP July move fiasco and the handling of the various Mr King issues, I was not impressed. A lot of placating the parents without any actual problem solving.

-pickle
4/1/13, 2:42 PM
Anonymous said…
"A lot of placating the parents without any actual problem solving..."

This is the trademark behavior of this administrator.


reader
4/1/13, 2:49 PM
Anonymous said…
Another administrator "committed to SPS" hits the road for greener pastures.

Educators, or mercenaries?

WSDWG
4/1/13, 3:04 PM
Anonymous said…
WSDWG,

Why do you begrudge anyone moving on to a different job? Are the Nancy Coogans and Phil Brockmans - the latter I heard described this weekend by a teacher in his former school as the hands-down, best principal she's ever worked under - supposed to just sit tight in Seattle out of some kind of charity to SPS? Turn away opportunity? I can't believe the pettiness here.

I don't begrudge a teacher moving to get his/her principal credentials for the same reason. I say more power to them. I suppose they shouldn't aspire to anything else either?

Moose
4/1/13, 3:34 PM
Po3 said…
I totally agree with Moose.
4/1/13, 4:09 PM
Melissa Westbrook said…
That all of them left to become superintendents elsewhere speaks pretty well to their abilities. As I said, it looks like SPS is a training ground for new superintendents.
4/1/13, 4:59 PM
Anonymous said…
This is just part of the game called "Musical Chair" at SPS. We will see more to come I guess, especially that Mr Banda's 1 year "patient period" is up.
As soon as someone would be in her/his position just enough time that s/he could be responsible and/ or accountable for some serious decisions, they are gone (to a better or a worse job that depends where you are looking at from).
Good luck to you, Ms Coogan anyway. I hope you won't have any problematic case in your new school district because how you handled Mr K and Ms G at Lowell was substandard.
HIMS mom
4/1/13, 5:19 PM
Anonymous said…
I wonder when we will learn that Marni Campbell has become a superintendent in some surrounding district.

Another Reader
4/1/13, 5:32 PM
Anonymous said…
Don't forget Michelle Curry in Orting and Carla Santorno in Tacoma. And Raj Manhas is in north Thurston still.

-SWWS
4/1/13, 5:53 PM
Anonymous said…
Melissa, I disagree with your comment that we're seeing SPS execs move up base on their "abilities." That word implies the ability to do good. This goes against what you've documented about Team SPS. As HIMS Mom said, Coogan botched the handling of Greg King and Rina Geoghagan. Now she gets an entire district? Good luck, Tukwila.

Mr White
4/1/13, 6:00 PM
mirmac1 said…
It's the Peter Principal. That is one reason why I have felt, to date, comfortable with Mr Banda. He did not rely on a hop-scotch work history with insufficient time (nor demonstrable results) to warrant promotion.
4/1/13, 6:06 PM
mirmac1 said…
Lynne who?

: )
4/1/13, 6:08 PM
Eric B said…
Of course Seattle is a training ground for new superintendents. Where else in Washington is there a district large enough that there is an opportunity to do superintendent-like administration without being in the big chair themselves? It's a natural step, since the Exec Director has responsibility for about as many schools as a small to medium size district. It's natural that surrounding districts would look for supes here among the Exec Directors, and that people who want to become supes would jump. I'm not commenting at all on the qualifications of anyone involved, just that it's a natural place to recruit.
4/2/13, 10:51 AM
mirmac1 said…
Sorry Eric B, but the Exec Dirs ONLY role as far as i've been able to determine is principal hand-holding and CYA. Unfortunately, under MGJ and Enfield, the emphasis on "instructional leadership" and teacher evaluations is tied directly to the neglect of teaching and learning. Interestingly, principal evaluations stand at only 81%. These high-priced Exec Dirs can't seem to do one of their key functions.

So, yes, career climbing of Exec Dirs and principals seems to be the raison de'tre of SPS.
4/2/13, 12:24 PM
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